Samsung refrigerator at the White House

# Take 1. Frustrated, First Lady of the United States Claire Underwood heads to her kitchen at the White House and opens the door of the refrigerator "Samsung Chef Collection" to cool her head down.

#Take 2. Republican presidential candidate Will Conway successfully establishes his public image as a young family man as the video of him playing with his young son that was filmed with the camera of the "Galaxy S6 Edge" went viral on the internet.

These are scenes from the "House of Cards," an American political drama web series produced by Netflix where the products of Samsung Electronics made appearance several times. Themed around the political scandals at the White House, the popularity of the drama was sensational since the first season was launched in 2013. High profile politicians around the world including U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Chinese President Xi Jinping are known to be the avid viewer of the show.

Befitting the show’s international popularity, the competition to get product placement (PPL) among global companies is also fierce. Coca Cola, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, and Samsung Electronics are doing PPL starting on season 2. Thanks to it, the main characters who only used the Blackberries and iPhones in season 1, are often seen using Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphones or Samsung TVs and refrigerators starting in season 2.

Season 3 drew much attention in particular as the protagonist of the show Frank Underwood was elected president and the White House was filled with home appliances made by Samsung Electronics. In season 4, which was disclosed early last month, some of the newest products including a curved UHD TV and Chef Collection refrigerator were installed inside the White House.

According to Phone Arena and other foreign media, Samsung products will be seen in all 13 episodes in season 4. The exposure time runs 48 minutes and 8 seconds. While Apple, which is the biggest PPL rival to Samsung, also features its product in 13 episodes, the exposure time is shorter by 20 minutes.

We were able to highlight the premium image of our products by having our TV and other home appliances exposed in the House of Cards, which is the hottest American drama now. Especially, the whole show is built around the White House, so it can significantly help highlight the status of Samsung as the best electronics brand in the world,” said an official from Samsung Electronics. In fact, Samsung supplied LCD monitors to the White House in the early 2000s.

In addition to the House of Cards, Samsung Electronics is promoting PPL in other American dramas, Hollywood blockbusters, and popular TV talk shows. In 2015, the Korean electronics giant had the "Samsung Innovation Center" featured in the movie Jurassic World.